Top 10 Trailers for Games Releasing in 2017

Trailers are the lifeblood of starting that new games hype train, for better or worse. Most people forget to measure their expectations though, and anything can look great with the right editing and clip selection for that first game trailer reveal. Upcoming game trailers don’t always disappoint however, and at the end of the day are necessary for actually showing a glimpse of what to even look forward to in some of the most anticipated video games. That said, not all game trailers are made equal, and releasing the best game trailer is exactly what any video game needs to get their foot in the door, especially from a smaller studio. So for better or worse in the end, here are the top 10 trailers for games releasing in 2017, because what’s wrong with looking forward to something.

10. Detroit: Become Human

I’m not really a big fan of David Cage’s previous works, I’ve always had the impression that not too many were in recent times, but credit where it’s due, Detroit looks interesting. The continuation that that well received Kara demo for ages ago, Detroit takes place in a distance future where androids are common place, and starting to question their existence and rights to live. Yeah I know, it’s hardly a unique premise really, but it’s always an interesting topic of discussion, especially in the medium of video games. Not a ton is out there concerning plot and gameplay, but this will once again be the David Cage fare of offering a long overarching story where you choose the path taken, and reap the results of your every action. I’m not sure whether or not this will be a hit or another flop, but if this top game trailer means anything then I hope it does better than more recent titles, I’m hopeful for it.

9. Prey for the Gods

We don’t know too much about Prey for the Gods other than it looks like the next generation of Shadow Colossus. That description alone has me on board. Alone on a frozen island full of monsters and hidden dangers, Prey for the Gods takes the large scale boss battles of Colossus and throws it together with survival and exploration as you get to hunt for supplies, seek shelter and fight off enemies both big and small to get to the bottom of the story behind just why you’re there. If nothing else it offers an attempt at being one of the few true spiritual successors to try and take the formula Colossus fans loved and flesh out the world just enough to give it something more, without removing the core focus.

Between seeing sky fights with flying behemoths, exploring the freezing woods and hunting down massive monsters across the island, Prey for the Gods looks to be a good game title to watch out for in 2017, if only to hope to for games to probably capture what the original inspiration delivered so well.

8. Super Mario Odyssey

I do have to give a little bit of a special mention to Super Mario Odyssey, because I think it could be the first game trailer for a Mario game that genuinely interested me in playing a new title in the franchise for…maybe the first time. I’ve played Mario games in the past sure, a handful of them here and there, but I’ve just sort of ran across them somehow, or picked them up from good word and gameplay videos. An actual trailer that excited me though? I’m not sure it’s actually been the case.

Be it some excitement behind Nintendo’s new Switch console, or simply the look Mario running through New Donk City and open looking environments, Super Mario Odyssey impressed me more than most, because it’s simply something I wouldn’t be expecting to have a strong interest towards. If that doesn’t sum up what makes a video game trailer good, I’m not sure what else the point of them would be.

7. Halo Wars 2

Fans of the Halo franchise, RTS games or not, will be excited to check out the changes and improvements this Halo title will bring after the originals lukewarm reception. You have to admit that the Halo series has always known how to make the best game trailers, this trailer being no exception. From the commanders walking through the battlefield as player representations to the epic fight scenes and slow motion analysis, it does perfectly represent that feeling you want a Real Time Strategy game to bring. It evokes memories of their past works and stirs a nostalgia for a series the vast majority of gamers will have played if not experienced.

6. Call of Cthulhu

I do love my Lovecraftian horror, despite being a complete coward in the face of all horror games. I don’t know what it is that draws me in exactly, although truly, we’ve never meant to gain true comprehension in the face of madness. Many games have taken so much inspiration from Lovecraft’s works, but few are directly connected to the license, since you know, copyright. Call of Cthulhu promises to bring us the tale of eldritch horror we’ve been waiting for though, as the player will be investigating sudden disappearances and deaths, cults, forbidden secrets and even their own sanity in this retelling of a classic.

My only fear is whether this will service that itch for the unknown in true elder god fashion, or will this simply turn out to be jump scares and creepy atmosphere. Horror games come and go but this will be a rare chance to do Call of Cthulhu justice, and I hope it’s not just the stock standard walk and scare. If the Call of Cthulhu trailer is any indication though, with the cultists and tentacles, the environments and characters, this looks worth keeping an eye on for sure.

5. Mass Effect Andromeda

Ever since the rather controversial ending of the original Mass Effect trilogy, fans of the space faring epic have been left with mixed feeling over one of gaming most popular sci-fi RPG’s. Regardless of which side of the argument you fell on, for a time no one was really sure if the Mass Effect series had a future in mind, but now with only a few months left, it’s time to save a whole new galaxy in Mass Effect Andromeda.

The general premise this time is that a portion humanity and all their alien friends have decided to leave our peaceful little reaper targeted galaxy see if Andromeda is any better off, the galaxy is always greener on the other side and all that. Players will step into the shoes of the Ryders, a brother and sister duo to pick from that are part of the pathfinders, people in charge of exploring the new home and keeping everyone generally safe from dangers. What we have seen from the Mass Effect Andromeda trailers doesn’t reveal too much of the overarching story, but with a new galaxy, characters and settings put into the Mass Effect universe, this is a soft reboot of the experience we all loved without the reset. I never did get on with the ending myself, so I really hope Mass Effect Andromeda can bring put the original magic once again.

4. Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Link’s newest adventure has been hotly anticipated since its first trailer reveal, and all this time certainly hasn’t done much to kill the hype behind it. While Zelda games have been open world in the past, Zelda: Breath of the Wild certainly does seem to capture that Elder Scrolls feeling with the size and scope of the world. Be it the many ways to interact with the environment and adapting to your surrounding for combat, the importance of basic survival skills and equipment or just wandering through this almost forgotten looking world of Hyrule, there’s certainly a fresh appeal to the formulas of the past.

More than anything I think people are simply exciting for another tale in the multiple timeline spanning series. Finding out exactly what time this Zelda game takes place, why the world seems to be shrouded in ruins and lost technology, and exactly where this new adventure will take us. With the 2017 release date creeping up on us as it coincides with the Switch release.

3. Prey

Prey seems to be rather hit or miss for a lot of people out there, but as someone who never played the previous titles in the franchise, it grabbed my interested upon its first reveal. Looking a bit like Dead Space meets Half-Life, the new and rebooted Prey shows a lot of strange events circling the protagonist, as they tend to do when you mess with science. People never learn.

A classic tale of science gone wrong, there’s time leaps with a continuing sense of displacement and confusion, shapeshifting creatures made of darkness, and that eye getting redder and redder. It seems to have all it needs for a Groundhog Day with time monsters story in the trailers we’ve seen, with a high sci-fi setting to boot. Time travel stories can either be interesting or incredibly generic though, and I certainly hope Prey delivers on an interesting story to go with the gameplay. Good time travel games seem few and far behind.

2. Persona 5

It’s been a long time coming but I’ve been excited for this one since the first reveal back in god knows when. Be it a look at the newly minted game in all its updated glory, the new possibilities with the characters and world, or simply that it’s a new main Persona title after so, this is something fans have waited many a year for. The trailer stirred no lack of questions either, and as we got to see the Phantom Thieves in action for the first time with a new story to uncover, followers of the franchise have been eagerly awaiting to see what’s in store for us when it does finally release over in the west. The Persona 5 trailer opened a whole series of questions and gave us a good look at what to expect, and we’ve been waiting for more ever since.

1. Resident Evil 7 Biohazard

I’ve gone from excitement about the changes to the old Resident Evil franchise to kind of reluctant to play it, not because it looks bad, but because I’m a huge coward and it could actually be scary to me for the first time in the goofy series. Resident Evil 7 Biohazard looks pretty damn convincing too, between the black slime monsters, relentless cannibal hillbilly’s and possible supernatural connection to ghosts this time. That last part being the most interesting, since the events of the last Resident Evil games seemed to suggest zombies may be old hat for the long running title, branching out could certainly be interesting. How this all connects to the previous universe and probably Umbrella is a big mystery though, and one I’d like to discover myself.

Little is known about the changes to Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, but we do know we’ll be playing as Ethan Winters, a man looking for this lost wife. I’m not holding my breath for a happy ending there.